i am framing my artwork for showing at Briar Patch Vet Hospital, Ithaca, NY July-September. it's a completion of months of studio time, almost 7 days a week. months of play, exploration and excitment. that's what i feel when i work in my studio.

i love the time i spend creating images. i love the process of finding inspiration, deciding compositions and colors and what animals to group together and exploring their anatomy and personality. most of my time spent is intuitive and i experience a "flow" that rises and ebbs as i go along. i have so much fun with the process and i can't imagine doing anything else!

now the time is come to prepare the works on paper for showing. cutting mats, chosing frames and assembling everything to a finished "product" that gets hung on a wall someplace public for all to see.

i want the paintings to leave my studio and go out into the world. i don't have a possessiveness toward them. i created them for a new home.

sharing the finished work is an important part of the process for me. they have to leave to make room for new ideas. otherwise, the stimulation of those finished works intrudes and new ideas are clouded.

so now the circle is approaching completion. and there is a lull, a stillness and anticipation of "what's next?"

i haven't painted much this month, spending time doing practical things like framing, marketing. i miss the joy and fun of time spent in the studio and anticipate starting the momentum again. having blips of unsettledness wondering, "will i be able to start up again?"

i try not to pay attention to those doubts because i do start up again. i am learning to accept the lull of refueling and using the time to just sit, regenerate, look at other's art, read other's words.

and then the cycle begins all over again in a new way..................